Former GM Ken Williams patiently waits to ask new GM Rick Hahn a question

SoxFest was fun this year. Although last week I was lamenting that there wasn’t a Festivus session, it turned out to be a perfectly good thing. There were plenty of great stories, good looks on the players (despite what some may think, Matt Thornton’s beard really is spectacular!) as well as learning that there is a ton of personality with this group and they enjoy each other.

In past year’s, I have done posts where you can read my timeline from twitter over the days. However, this year I just didn’t have time to do that. You can always go back and look at it and I may get around to compiling it to archive soon before it is no longer available. The best news of me tweeting this year was that I managed to stay out of Twitter Jail. This was surprising to me considering all the good tidbits the players and coaches had to share. » Continue reading “Lessons Learned At SoxFest 2013″

So far there have been two days of SoxFest. Today was the final day and it did live up to expectations. The first couple of days there was a lot of talk of chemistry.  How well do the players get along? How well does everyone like each other. How much is everyone working toward the same goal? Is everyone pulling on the rope in the same direction? Hopefully you followed along on twitter to know what was been happening in the sessions. If not, you should have as there were lots of fun little nuggets that come up. Such as me realizing I don’t despise Tom “Wimpy” Paciorek as much as I have in the past. And Tony La Russa doesn’t seem quite as douchey as I am used to seeing him be.

As I am sure you know by now, the 1983 team is being celebrated this season, including wearing the 1983 uniform on Sunday home games. There had far been a couple of panels with some members of that team as well as other panels where members of the team talked in general. Additionally, there was a panel featuring Aaron Rowand, Joe Crede, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko discussing the 2005 team. » Continue reading “SoxFest 2013 All About Chemistry So Far”

Round three of interleague plague sees the White Sox taking a trip just across the Mississippi to hang out in St. Louis. Two teams with brand new managers this season will square off. So far, the results for each have been interesting. Here is what you might want to know heading into these three games.

2012 Record: White Sox 33-27, 1st in AL Central. Cardinals 31-30, 3rd in NL Central

2012 Interleague play record: White Sox 4-2, Cardinals 1-2

2011 Interleague Record: White Sox 11-7, Cardinals 8-7

2006 Season Series Record: 3-0

All-Time Series Record: 8-10 (The Sox are 2-7 in St. Louis)

The following pitchers are expected to start in the three games:

Jose Quintana: 1-1, 2.05 ERA, 10K v. Adam Wainwright: 5-6, 4.97 ERA, 65K

Jake Peavy: 6-1, 3.05 ERA, 72K v. Lance Lynn: 9-2, 2.66 ERA, 74K

Gavin Floyd: 4-6, 5.38 ERA, 67K v. Jake Westbrook: 4-6, 4.25 ERA, 53K

All three games begin at 7:15 pm CDT. » Continue reading “For The Birds. Series Preview: White Sox @ Cardinals”

First things first. I need your help Sox fans! I am compiling a play list of music to help us get through the off season. So if you could be so kind as to tell me what you are listening to these days to pass the time until spring comes around, that would be awesome. I am taking submissions for things that remind you of the team in some way as well. Just let them in the comments or email me (address to the right). I hope to have this for your listening pleasure next week. Feel free to leave reasons why the songs you are suggesting work well for passing the time. And don’t worry, the more eclectic the better. After all, Sox fans are a very diverse group of fans.

And on to the news you might have missed.

 I am sure you are not totally interested in Tony La Russa, but here is an article on The Hardball Times that details 10 things about TLR and how he helped shape the game.

 It’s award season and Mark Buehrle, Paul Konerko and Sergio Santos are getting some club hardware.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: November 8, 2011 White Sox Links & A Request For Help”

Ah the Hot Stove season. When your team is not going to change much from the prior season, it can be really boring. It can also be really boring when your team isn’t in a position to do much to better itself for the next season. Of course, when your favorite team is trying to shed salary, well then the Hot Stove season can be just a pins and needles experience. You’ll sit wondering which players from the team you know will be sent away. Either by a trade, declining of arbitration or just letting them walk away via free agency.

The White Sox are going to be dealing with all of these things. Some players are probably on the trade block. A couple of guys are arbitration-eligible. Whether the team offers them arbitration or lets those players walk. However with John Danks and Carlos Quentin, I seriously doubt the team would just let them go without some sort of arbitration. Of course, the big person would be Mark Buehrle who might just walk away because he is a free agent.

A pins and needles stove it looks to be. Now for the news:

 Minnie Miñoso is on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2012! He will be considered by the Historical Overview Committee.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: November 4, 2011 White Sox News”

First, a GINORMOUS Congratulations to Mark Buehrle who picked up his third consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove for the 2o11 season. If you have watched Mark at all, you know the man has a wicked pick off move as well as being incredibly good at fielding his position as a pitcher.

We still don’t know whether Mark will be back at 35th & Shields, but we can still hope for it to happen. Now for the news you might have missed with additional drama continuing on the the north side of town.

 Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times has a great piece on Tony La Russa‘s career. It includes his playing career as well as managerial. Most of the managerial stuff has to do with the St. Louis Cardinals, but

 Bacon is in a position right now he’s probably tired of seeing: looking for a bounce back year at the dish.

 You know that the Field of Dreams sold. Now you can read about the Chicago couple who purchased the property.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: November 3, 2011 White Sox News”

Dear Ken,

When I last wrote to you, I asked you to throw the other half of the White Sox fan base a bone and make Tito your guy and make him an offer he couldn’t refuse to be your next manager. Well, you didn’t do that and given some things that have come out recently regarding Tito, perhaps that was a good thing.

You did however oblige me and throw a bone at us. You hired Robin Ventura as the 39th manager of my White Sox. For fans like me, who are huge fans of Robin, you have given us something. We might think you are crazy and all, but you have done something to at least keep us from completely fuming at you. In case you are oblivious (which is quite possible given your recent moves the past few years), we have been *irritated* to say the least with you. » Continue reading “I Asked For A Bone. Boy Did I Get It”

You know what is fun yet boring at the same time? The off season. It’s fun because you get a break from the drama that is the baseball season. It’s boring because your team is not in the playoffs and sometimes, you just have zero interest in rooting for any other team. Let alone having any interest in rooting against teams you really hate for whatever reason.

Hopefully the playoffs will provide enough excitement baseball-wise to entertain until the hot stove can actually begin. For now, enjoy some light reading.

 Auditioning for a role post baseball? A.J. Pierzynski hits the small screen.

 Sale-ing away to the starting rotation? That appears where Chris will be for 2012.

 South Side Sox takes a look at the managerial search.

 A look at the times that championship winning managers have left their teams through the years.

 A reason why neither Tito or La Russa would be a good fit on the south side.

With all of the talk of new coaches and managers, who would you like to see at the helm of the Sox? Tell me in the comments.